Three Forks Palm Bay: Parkway Gets a Trigger, Shops Don't

Three Forks Palm Bay is on the Palm Bay City Council agenda for November 5 at 6:00 PM in Council Chambers, 120 Malabar Road SE. Council will hear the final development plan (Case FD23-00013) and the project's development agreement (DA24-00002) on first reading the same night. The applicants are Parkside Commons Center, LLC and West 80 Acres, LLC, per The Palm Bayer's reporting on the November 5 agenda.

Three Forks Palm Bay: What the Plan Proposes

The plan covers about 124.56 acres south of Malabar Road at the St. Johns Heritage Parkway. It proposes 376 single-family homes, 288 multifamily units, a 119-space RV park, and about 50,000 square feet of commercial space, according to The Palm Bayer. Staff recommend approval with conditions.

The site carries a Regional Activity Center designation, a zoning class the city created when it annexed the land, amended its Future Land Use Map, and approved the preliminary development plan by Ordinance No. 2022-101 on October 20, 2022. The Comprehensive Plan's RAC objective calls for walkability, compact development patterns, and a well-connected street system.

The Parkway Extension Gets an Enforceable Trigger

Under Section 10.5 of DA24-00002, if no one else has started the work, the developer must permit, construct, and convey the St. Johns Heritage Parkway extension south of Malabar Road before the city issues the first single residential building permit for Phase 1C. The extension runs about 200 feet wide and 1,276 feet long, two lanes ending in a one-lane temporary cul-de-sac. Under Section 10.3, the 288 apartments may not proceed until that same stretch of parkway has been permitted for construction.

The agreement's fire safety section, Section 12, adds requirements absent from the earlier Planning and Zoning packet. No vertical wood framing may go up for Phase IC or the apartments until the access road and turnaround are certified complete by the Fire Marshal. Water supply must be operational, pressurized, and flow-tested before combustible materials are delivered on site.

The Commercial Component Carries No Trigger

The phasing sheet puts retail commercial in Phases IC and ID, scheduled December 2027 to December 2028. Phase ID commercial is described as pad-ready lots. Every phase is stated to be subject to change based on evolving market conditions, and Section 3.3 of the agreement allows the timetable to be amended or extended as approved by staff.

The same plan and agreement that condition home permits on a parkway extension condition nothing on the commercial, according to The Palm Bayer's review of the agenda documents. There is no deadline, no trigger, and no milestone for the commercial component in the recommended conditions or in DA24-00002 as drafted. Phase IA, running December 2026 to December 2027, is houses only.

The conditions exhibit, Exhibit D of DA24-00002, currently reads in full: "Conditions (To be determined at first public hearing.)" That first hearing is November 5. Whatever conditions Council wants in the agreement, Thursday is when the page is open to write them, per The Palm Bayer.

Drafting Gaps in the Packet

The Council packet is the November 4 Planning and Zoning Board staff report carried forward unchanged, according to The Palm Bayer. Recommended Condition 2(b) ends mid-sentence. The commercial acreage appears two ways: about 5.86 acres in the summary table and about 5.62 acres in the phasing narrative. The plan narrative says three commercial lots; the agreement's recitals and its legislative memo say four.

No dollar figures appear anywhere in either document. No impact fee amounts, no proportionate-share amount, and no off-site improvement cost appear. The legislative memo transmitting the agreement leaves its fiscal impact field blank. Section 10.6 grants the developer dollar-for-dollar transportation impact fee credits at the fair market value of out-of-pocket expenses, and those credits are freely assignable.

For questions about retail space in Palm Bay, see the Palm Bay retail space listings or call 321-514-0876 or use the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Palm Bay City Council scheduled to vote on the Three Forks development plan?

The Three Forks final development plan (Case FD23-00013) and development agreement (DA24-00002) are on the Palm Bay City Council agenda for November 5, 2026, at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers at 120 Malabar Road SE.

How much commercial space does the Three Forks plan propose?

The plan proposes about 50,000 square feet of commercial space on the roughly 124.56-acre site. The phasing sheet describes Phase ID commercial as pad-ready lots, scheduled for December 2027 to December 2028, with no enforceable trigger requiring it to be built.

What parkway trigger does the Three Forks development agreement include?

Under Section 10.5 of DA24-00002, the developer must permit, construct, and convey the St. Johns Heritage Parkway extension south of Malabar Road before the city issues the first single residential building permit for Phase 1C. The extension runs about 1,276 feet long and 200 feet wide.

Sources

• The Palm Bayer: Three Forks at Council: Full agenda preview covering Case FD23-00013, DA24-00002, phasing, development agreement terms, and the blank conditions exhibit for the November 5 Palm Bay City Council meeting.

Written by Cassandra Hartford, founder and CEO of Reach Commercial Real Estate. She has worked in Brevard County commercial real estate for 17 years, representing buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants across Florida's Space Coast.